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General F.A.Q.'s
How Many Condors were built?
Twenty-one Condor 40's; four Condor 30's. And, one Condor 40 "knockoff,"
privately built from the molds after Condor Limited shut down.
What was the Condor 60?
The Condor 60 was never built, because Condor Limited shut down
before the mold tooling could begin. But, the 60 was a sweet catamaran
designed with the Caribbean daycharter business in mind, and with
at least 3 comitted buyers lined up and waiting.
Do the Condor 40 and Condor 30 molds still
exist?
No one's sure. Supposedly they're sitting in a storage yard in Warrenton,
RI. I'm trying to find an address for the yard.
What do Condors weigh?
Well, closer to 9,000 lb's, vs. the 5,700 lb's listed in the factory
brochures and ads. Here's what Mick Price -- the Condor's main designer
said in an article: "5,700 was probably a very early optimistic
weight based on optimistic listing of similar sized race boats of
that time! 7,200 @ 1/2 load was probably closer to the truth, but
probably not 1/2 load, but bare/empty. I think hull #1 may have
been the lightest, certainly the first three were the lightest of
all in general. I can't remember what the weight estimate for the
30 is nor what they came in at, but I remember them being much closer
to target as we had a much better handle on the building procedures
and estimated/expected resin ratios."
Where did the name come from?
When Mick Price finished drawing the lines (after Mick and Phil
spent 2 years studying high-tech multi's, running computer analysis,
and number crunching), he and Phil Herting (co-founders) immediately
saw that the multi resembled a Condor in flight, wings outstretched.
As they wrote in the Condor Limited Business Plan, "The CONDOR
40 projects the image of her formidable namesake in full flight."
And, thus the first Condor's name: "Endangered Species."
What happened to "Endangered Species?"
She's still flying around the Chespeake, still named "Endangered
Species," and looking great for a 19 year-old! Early this year,
Scott McDiarmid bought her from her original owner -- Joel Lipkin
of Annapolis; She has always been slipped in Annapolis, which is
fitting since Annapolis was where she and the other Condors were
built.
Where did the logo come from?
Phil Herting had hired a graphics designer to design a logo, but
they failed to produce anything. So, with the deadline fast approaching,
Phil decided to do it himself, cut out a photos of a Condor in flight,
"projected" it onto a wall, traced the larger image, and
the rest is history!
Has a Condor circumnavigated?
Several crossings but no circumnavigations -- yet! Several have
crossed the Atlantic. Sennet Duttenhofer was the first when -- in
1988 -- he was the FIRST production multihull to EVER finish the
OSTAR/CSTAR. And rumor has it that Mick Price -- and crew -- delivered
one to Equador, through the Panama Canal.
I've heard the first Condor 40 had a jet-drive
engine?
Yes. It was called the "Wolfpack Jet Engine." It was the
brainchild of an engineer from the Midwest, but had never been tried
out in a boat of any kind. Unfortunately, it was a case of "great
on the drawing board, lousy in practice." The engine was reportedly
louder than an AC/DC concert and a 747 at take-off -- COMBINED.
And it would only push the Condor at 3-4 knots max. So, the jet-drive
was yanked out, and Yamaha 9.9 outboard(s) were installed on the
aft crossbeams.
Condors have been around since 1985. Just
how tough have they proven to be?
26 Condors are still sailing the seven seas. Several
have made ocean crossings without suffering ANY structural issues.
Well, not counting "Man O' War" -- who T-boned a Russian
freighter, lost 4 ft. of the starboard ama (but no damage to the
rig or crossbeams!), and then covered the remaining 400 miles to
England! Then, she was repaired in a week and proceeded to race
in the '88 OSTAR!! (click
to read the story) How many other boats could survive such a
collision without major overall structural/rig damage? In 2003,
I helped Otis Tavlin deliver his Condor 40 #18 -- Thunderbird --
from Gibraltar to Key West -- 5,600 miles -- and nothing broke,
no cracks, anywhere on the boat. And Thunderbird had previously
crossed 6 months before -- a total of 10,000 bluewater miles with
with nary a scratch. Condors were built to OSTAR standards, blue-water
race tough, using top-of-theline materials like E and Bi-axial glass;
and built to last. Also, vinylester resin was used throughout, which
has kept Condors from suffering blistering issues.
Have
more questions?! Please email them to Condor40@condortrimaran.com
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